Caol Ila

A whisky critic once described Caol Ila as 'Mr. Consistent'. A powerhouse it might be in terms of volume, Caol Ila always manages to strike a balance between maturity and distillery character. It may surprise many that even though it receives the same spec of malt as sister distillery Lagavulin, Caol Ila’s distillation regime – longer fermentation, higher cut point, taller stills – all help to reduce the heavy phenols. Built in 1846 by Hector Henderson in a tight bay next to Port Askaig, on Islay’s east coast. He named his venture Caol Ila, Gaelic for the Sound of Islay, the stretch of water which it overlooked. In 1927 Caol Ila became part of the United Distillers Limited (which became Diageo) portfolio - running continuously until 1972, when the old distillery was demolished and a new, significantly larger one was built with six stills rather than two. This transformed Caol Ila into Islay’s largest producer with an annual output of nearly 7 million litres.